Come by and Vote!

Hey! I've been honored by making it to the top 50 on Harlequin's SYTYCW15 contest. In order for me to make it to the next level I have to get as many votes as possible. So, come by and give Tuscany some love - https://www.wattpad.com/story/48304085-tuscany-sytycw15

Romance…Not for everyone…

So many people ask me why I write romance. Well, I love anything romance and believe that everyone needs a little romance. Of course I’ve met many skeptics that don’t believe in romance. They often tell me it’s only found in sappy novels, Valentine candy or something similar, but they insist it’s only in the mind. For me I don’t believe that. I don’t consider most romance novels sappy, but sometimes the sappier the better, but I’m a romance novel junkie and I readily admit to the problem. Many have asked me when I started loving romance. My love for romance began when I was the tender age of 13 and picked up my first romance novel. I read many Harlequin and dime store novels, so many in fact that I carried them everywhere. One of my dear friends from school came to my book signing on Valentine’s Day and she told me that she remembered me carrying a romance novel everywhere I went. She said it only made sense that one day I’d be a romance author. But the day I picked up the book “Remembrance” by Danielle Steele, well let’s just say I was lost in a world of the imagination. She took me to foreign countries and many adventures that stirred this country girl’s young heart. That’s when I started filling notebooks with the words that sprang to my heart. That was when I woke up to the world of romance. Unfortunately not everyone shares my love of romance. Some people have been hurt by love and they turn away from romance. Some people look in the wrong places for the right person and they end up bitter and alone. But some try desperately to find romance and when it’s not found easily they become skeptics. I’m not saying everyone will find that once in a lifetime romance, but I will say this, in order to find romance you’ve got to believe in it with all your heart. That’s where romance comes from and if you believe, it will come. I know I’m just a sappy romance writer, but I know romance exists. I’ve experienced romance and it’s wonderful. That’s one reason I love writing romance. I want my readers to see how real romance happens. My books explore romance but in real life form. It’s not always easy and sometimes my characters struggle to find it. But that’s how life is sometimes. Some of my fans say I take them away from everyday life and immerse them into my world of romance for a while as they read. That always makes me smile.

So, do you believe in romance? I hope so because everyone needs to experience it at least once in their lifetimes. It can happen in a simple touch, dinner or just a look across the way. But it exists for those that believe and when you find it everything seems better. As always, good writing and May God Bless you…

Her Wish For Christmas... Pre Order up

Good Wednesday morning to everyone! It's a beautiful, chilly morning here in Georgia. I just love the crisp air that Fall offers. It's so invigorating and refreshes my soul. I begin to get more itchy to write which is scary because some days I could write for 24 hours a day. Yikes, that sounds a little obsessive, but if you're a writer you know exactly what I'm talking about. I'm currently working on Her Wish for Christmas, the 3rd book in my Lean on Him Christian Romance Series. This book has torn at my heart and brought me to tears several times. I thought book 2 in the series, Faith Through the Tears was bad on my nerves, well this one has totally cleared out my tear ducts. Actually had a fan recommend sending out a box of tissues with each copy sold. Good Wednesday morning to everyone! It's a beautiful, chilly morning here in Georgia. I just love the crisp air that Fall offers. It's so invigorating and refreshes my soul. I begin to get more itchy to write which is scary because some days I could write for 24 hours a day. Yikes, that sounds a little obsessive, but if you're a writer you know exactly what I'm talking about. I'm currently working on Her Wish for Christmas, the 3rd book in my Lean on Him Christian Romance Series. This book has torn at my heart and brought me to tears several times. I thought book 2 in the series, Faith Through the Tears was bad on my nerves, well this one has totally cleared out my tear ducts. Actually had a fan recommend sending out a box of tissues with each copy sold. If you're wondering why it brings me to tears, well it's a book about a problem that plagues this nation and it's something that just affects me so deeply. But it's the reactions of the characters that totally takes me by surprise. If you're not a writer, the last statement might seem strange, but sometimes as writer's we're surprised by how the characters take over. Also, for this book, it's on pre order through Amazon until the release date of November 14th at http://www.amazon.com/Her-Wish-Christmas-Lean-Book-ebook/dp/B00OJI0BN0. I'm donating 50% of my royalties from all the pre order sales and first week after release sales to a domestic violence charity. I want to help out with making a difference. This is such a problem and it breaks my heart that so many feel they have nowhere to turn. The first couple of days the pre order was out it was in the top 100 on Amazon which is exciting. I'm so touched by the response to this book and can't wait for it to be up and running. Since the book is almost completely through the editing process I'm crossing my fingers that maybe this book can inspire someone to speak out and get help. As always, great writing and May God Bless You...

Authors are like bees!

Authors are like bees! Ok, I know you’re saying, now where is she going with that? Well, let me explain. I was watching a bumblebee buzzing around my flowers and I was thinking about the pollination process. If you think hard about it you’ll get where I’m going with this :) As authors we start with the seed that grows into a flower which of course is our book. Once we’ve completed our work of art we start spreading it everywhere. Then of course other authors or bees in this analogy, spread it to other places and so on and so on. Are you getting the picture? Of course we do want to make sure to cross pollinate too. We need to work together as authors and helps other authors promote. It’s a win, win. Have you noticed that we do a lot of promoting on other authors sites and them on ours? I was asked by a non writer once why we do that and I laughed. I told them it may sound crazy, but it still gets our name out there. We all have followers that read what we post. Then of course if we recommend a book they’ll go over and check it out, then also when we cross pollinate, the original author gets more views from the other authors followers. It may sound confusing, but it’s really quite simple. It’s like a pyramid, but legal. So, have you cross pollinated lately? Don’t forget about Romancing September Across The World will start Septemeber 1st. I’ll be posting more in the next week regarding it. But I’ll tell you this, we’ve got 30 awesome authors involved and it’s going to be a great chance to do some pollinating, ummm…. you know what I mean, sharing :) As always, good writing and May God Bless You… For more info: http://rosieamber.wordpress.com/romancing-september-tour/ Also, the countdown is getting close for Safe In The Pirate’s Arms…

New Website and Release date finalized!

It’s been a very productive past couple of days. I have a new website that features buy links for my paperbacks and it’s pretty neat. You can go over and visit at http://www.stephaniehurtauthor.com/. Also this is something that Horseshoe Publishing does. We offer website design and set up. Also at competitive rates. Just wanted to throw that in there. The other big news is that “Safe In The Pirate’s Arms” official release date is Friday, August 15th. Yep that’s this Friday. I’m excited that it’s so soon, I’d thought it might me next week. Of course my new website has a countdown to the minute, but you know how these book sites are. It could go up a little earlier, but that’s the approximate time. I hope everyone is having an awesome week so far. As for me, it’s been great and I’m working on Emma. The countdown to release is coming up. Then on to the new series. Yikes, deadlines! Yep, I love being a writer. As always, good writing and May God Bless You…

TBT - "Field Of Dreams"

It’s Thursday and as I sit here watching the Today Show I’m in awe. Why? Well, they’re talking about Field OF Dreams being 25 years old. I dearly love this movie for many reasons. It’s such an inspirational movie. Even if you don’t like baseball you’ll love this movie. I just love Kevin Costner and James Earl Jones. The movie takes you to another place where dreams come true and make you think. The main character makes his dreams a reality through many hardships and a lot of criticism. It makes me think about my dream to be a writer. My niece who is also my partner in our publishing business told me that if I write the fans will come and she was right. I compare my writing to the baseball field. When I publish a book I’m always amazed at the people that come out of the darkness and write to me about the book. Some call them inspirational and others say they love the clean way I bring about romance without having to go too far. I guess you could say my writing is my very own field of dreams and it’s been a dream come true. Yes I do meet some criticism, but I have a tough skin and let it roll off my back. I’m lucky that I have a great following and so many new friends from all over the world that support my writing, my blog and my craziness. Thanks to all of you for helping me make my dreams come true. As always, great writing and May God Bless You…

Throwback Thursday - Tender Flames

Well, another one of my books has turned two this week. Tender Flames turned two on Monday. Wow, time flies when you're having a blast. I always knew that writing was fun and rewarding, but the last two years have really proven this as fact. Tender Flames was a challenge to me. I pitted two brothers against one another and made it work. I cried and laughed while writing this one. But as with Ghost Lover it is under reconstruction. I've learned so much in the last two years and I want to make this book even better with new angles. Even the cover will be remade even though I dearly love the original, everything needs a face lift from time to time. Here's a little snippet from Tender Flames: They walked hand in hand back to the party. They were both deep in thought. She was thinking about how her family would react and how Wes would. Zach knew his family would be happy, well almost his whole family. He knew it was mean of him to want to hurt his brother, but his brother was a fool for not snatching her up long ago. They arrived back at the party. Randy ran over, “Hey sis, everyone wondered where you two had wondered off to. Judging by the look on your face I know what you were doing.” He grinned as he pulled his sisters hair. She blushed. Zach led her to the front of the dance floor. He whistled for the music to stop. Everyone turned to see what Zach had to say. “I have some wonderful news. I have asked Sara to be my wife, and she has accepted. We are to be wed before my leave is up.” There was a stunned silence then everyone whooped and yelled. There were a lot of handshakes and pats on the back for Zach and hugs for Sara. Her parents were stunned at first, then relieved. They had always hoped she would marry one of the Dawson boys. The same went for his parents, they were thrilled. His mother had even cried. Wes walked up and leaned over Sara. He whispered in her ear. “I hope you know what you are doing?” He then gave her a hug that was tight enough to press the air from her lungs. The look he gave her was full of something she did not recognize. She knew then that he cared more for her than she realized. She was suddenly angry with him. It served him right. He should have let her know a long time ago. She did not plan on waiting on him the rest of her life. He gave his brother a hug and said in his ear. “Brother, she had better not be pregnant. You had better make her happy.” He gave him a look that dared him to go against what he said. With that he had left with his girlfriend. Zach had noticed his brother’s reaction too. He was sorry for the hurt he had seen in his eyes, but he loved Sara. He would make her a good husband. Maybe one day she would learn to love him, but for now he was satisfied that she would be his wife. He knew deep down that there would always be a large part of her that belonged to Wes. He could live with that, he just hoped that she could. He turned to her and gave her a big kiss, which brought a lot of whistling and applauding. They danced together for the remainder of the evening. Sara was still a little shocked by the show of emotions on Wes’ face. She knew now that he loved her, but she had committed herself to his brother. She would not back out now and hurt Zach. In a way, she did love him, but she would never love him the way she did Wes. She would make him a good wife. This is from the original manuscript. Since the rewrite is already in process this scene will read differently but the emotion will be there. As always, good writing and May God Bless You...

Getting to the Heart of Romance...

As most of you know, I write romance. I also blog about romance and the need for more of it in our lives. As I've said many times, romance helps in so many ways.If you're married, you need sprinkles of romance in every aspect of that marriage. If you're in a relationship and it's leaning toward love, well you need romance. It just helps out with even the most tense moment. I've read hundreds, dare I say thousands of romance novels. Sometimes I have to laugh at the lengths a writer will go to when trying to tickle a readers ears. I know all about those lengths. I do it everyday in my writing. Are we giving people false hope? I don't think so, but I recently read an article on just that. The writer talked about teen girls today expecting to find that one man that will give them the romance and life they've read about in novels. She talked about having a trend of romance novels that actually talked of real life interactions. This made me think about my writing. Could a romance novel written from real life interactions make difference? Would the couple waking up with morning breath, totally avoiding one another until they've freshened said breath make a difference? What about those unglamorous moments when you have no make up on and your hair is scraggly? Do you write about that? Will it sell or will people laugh you right out of business? If you take a long look at your own life, how many times have you had a muscled man rescue you and sweep you away to a beautiful location to propose and give you a huge diamond ring, then kiss you into oblivion? Really, how many times? What about a virile cowboy sweeping you off your feet and taking you away into the sunset on his horse? I know, I'm being a little far fetched, but let's get to the heart of real romance. In real life it's the simple things. Maybe it's a flower picked from the yard, a card to say I'm sorry, maybe it's just a loaded dishwasher after a long day of work, but let's get real about romance. For me it's that look across the dinner table or simply a quick kiss as he passes me in the kitchen as I fix dinner. But in order to sell books, sometimes we have to go beyond the simple and blow the romance up to a higher level. But that's what sells books, so we'll continue to do it. I can say that I haven't heard of anyone being swept off their feet by a sexy vampire or shifter. But it makes for fascinating reading. As always good writing, and May God Bless You...

How hooked are you?

Good morning! I do hope all of you are safe and well after those nasty storms that came through the southern US. As for me, did you notice no post from me yesterday. Well, I had no power for most of the day. If you know me well, or even if you just know me from social media interaction, then you know I try to post most days. While my power was off and I was unconnected to all of my electrical devices, I had lots of time to think. Think? Wow that's a large word when you think about it. How often do we just sit and think? No really, how often? Yes we use our brains, but most of the time it's connected to some sort of electrical device, especially internet driven devices. Whether it's your computer, smart phone, or whatever it is that you use to do everything, you're probably hooked. I sat here thinking about how much power means to us today. It's like life shuts down when the power does. But if you think about it, we're so hooked on the gadgets that make life easier that we can't function when it goes south. I sat down on my couch and tried to figure out what I would do until the power came back on. The sad thing was, I had payroll for a client to complete, but my computer addicted brain had a hard time dealing with the process of manually completing the task. That's when I sat down and took a hard look at me life. When it's quiet and nothing is happening you can do that without interruption. I realized that I'm addicted to power. Whatever happened to actually doing something for ourselves without relying on a gadget to do it for us. I stood up and walked to my office with determination. Of course I had to drag my teenage son with me so he could hold the flashlight. I pulled out the employee paperwork on each employee, I dusted off the payroll tax sheets and I grabbed some checks and a pen. Oh yeah, and the solar powered calculator. I sat down with a old oil lamp and proceeded to figure payroll the old way. My son sat watching and shaking his head. He kept saying, 'Can't you wait until the power comes back on?' I just kept going and soon I had a completed payroll ready for delivery. The hard part was the social media disconnect. I sat for a moment wondering if I made any sales during the night, wondering how all my social media friends had faired the night of storms and wanting desperately to check my Twitter feed. Sad, but true. I realized again I'm addicted to everything power connected. Unfortunately, most of my work is connected to power. My clients files are loaded on my laptop, which has a battery of course, but my accounting program drains that battery really quickly. I did a couple of things that didn't require my laptop, but I was limited. I did work on some of my manuscript outlines. I still do those old school long hand. It's just the way I am. I tried putting those on the computer, but it's easier to have them beside me as I write, not in a file that I have to pull up. So, my question is this, How hooked are you on electricity or even the internet and social media? If you were without power for a week, would you pull your hair out or make the best of it? As always, good writing and May God Bless You...

Let's do a Throwback Thursday

Today I'm getting ready to celebrate the two year mark of publishing my first novel, "Ghost Lover". That one book challenged me in so many ways. I wrote this book several months before I published it in May 2012, but I struggled with putting it out to the public. My editor and cover designer, Kaleigh, found the manuscript and loved it. She went about working on a cover and getting the information to publish this book on Amazon. I was thrilled, scared, excited, nervous and the list goes on regarding how I felt about putting my work out to the public. Then one day there it was. It was on Amazon and I was a published author. But a funny thing happened. Readers fell in love with Jess and Jared's love story. This book was a game changer for me. It catapulted me into a writing frenzy. This book still sells today and I've had several calls and emails about this book. But I do have some surprises coming in the near future concerning some of my first published books. As any writer will tell you, as you write every book you learn many things. You learn different techniques in writing and ways to make characters more vibrant. I'm working on some revisions to some of my first books. I might even do a couple of cover changes. So, as the weeks go on I'll be announcing some new releases and old made new releases. As always, good writing and May God Bless You...

Starting with a good foundation

Writing a book is not as easy as it looks. There are so many steps to making a readable novel. Of course you can just write a story and publish it without following the needed steps, but I don't recommend it. Make sure what you put out to the public is the best it can be. As I stated in my post about polishing it up, take the steps to make it the best it can be. This starts with a good foundation. You don't want to build your house on shifting sands, so why build your story on a whim. Writers are full of stories, it's the way we're made. A story line comes to us and we immediately start writing, but in many cases we need to sit down and make sure that the story line is strong enough to hold up a novel to the end. If you can't make the story line hold up the whole book then you might want to rethink the process. Sit down with the story idea. Think it out. See where the story goes in your mind. Most of the stories that come into my head actually keep poking at me until I do this. You all know how I am about outlines and yes, I know some of you are groaning, but they help keep the story in line or somewhat in line. Also, you need to make sure that the story idea will keep a reader involved and interested throughout the middle part and the ending. If the story does not have enough backbone to hold out to the end, you might want to rethink it. Sometimes when you sit down and really give it some thought you can make it work. A writer has a way of making the story come alive and evolve. That's what your story line idea has to do, evolve. Using an outline can help build the foundation of the story. You can sway some from the outline, but make sure that the story stays consistent so that it follows neatly behind the leader. Don't forget the reason for the story, the backbone of the story. That's what builds the foundation on a sturdy foundation, not a sinking sand foundation. Make your book the best it can be, so start off right. Do your homework. Writing a book takes work, so give it your all. As always, good writing and May God Bless You...

Monday, Monday, Monday

As I sit here sipping my 2nd cup of coffee trying to get my eyes to stay open, I notice the clouds moving in. Yep, we're expecting rain here in the south today. I had a busy but wonderful weekend. Saturday was the Easter Egg hunt at our Church. That was really fun, but lots of work. It was worth it. Then yesterday was my hubby's birthday. Also after Church several members (including my family) got the sanctuary ready for Easter and the Spring season. Considering our Church is three stories, yep I got my exercise. No need to work out today. For all my American friends tomorrow is the last day of non extension tax season. That means I'll be slammed with tax work today and tomorrow, but I'm taking the last three days of this week off. I plan to get some writing in that has been put to the wayside for the last couple of weeks. This is a reminder to all my writer friends. Make sure that you claimed your royalties and the expenses that you had. Don't forget all those advertising sites, production fees, programs purchased to help with your writing, computers and printers, website fees, dues and subscription fees for all those sites you joined, and the many more expenses we writers incur in a year. If you received a 1099 for your royalties, don't ignore them because the IRS won't. Hope everyone has a blessed Monday and don't forget to smile today, it's your day so make it over the moon! As always, good writing and May God Bless You...

The delete button is painful...

Ok, how many of you have had to hit the delete button? If you've ever worked on a computer you've eventually hit the delete button. Some of you are probably wondering what I'm talking about. Well, for a writer, delete can be a dreaded, horribly painful button. Your finger hovers over it fighting with you not to do. Your finger screams "NOOOOO", but eventually you force it to do what you've told it to do. Now, let's get past my dramatic description to the meaning of this post. I was working the other day on one of my books when I hit a brick wall. The unfortunate thing about this brick wall is it was very high and wide, no way around it. Suddenly the story just ended suddenly. What do you do when you hit that dreaded brick wall in a story? Is it too early to end the story, or do you just end it there? Well, in some instances the story just ends there, but what happens when you know the story needs to go further in this book? If it's a part of a series, well you just start the new book on the other side of the wall, but if it's a stand alone, well, you've got to get past that wall. But how? I sat staring at my screen, unable to think about the inevitable. After much thought and wondering what happened, I finally took a look at my outline. I was confused because it was going along so well and then I ran smack into a wall. Why? Then as I read down the many lines of my outline I realized what I'd done. Duh!!! Ok, so I'm blonde, I'm given at least one, maybe two blonde moments in a day. What I'd done was skip a couple of pivotal story line turns. For some reason I'd totally jumped over some very important happenings in the book. I'd actually skipped several chapters. You may be saying, how on earth did you do that? Well, if you're a writer you may be saying, yep, been there done that. That night I didn't start writing until late in the evening after a long day of tax return preparation. I was exhausted and just wanted to get lost in my manuscript. That's the problem, I got lost in my own manuscript. Sometimes when you're really tired, you just need to step back and do something else. Maybe design a cover or work on some character descriptions, but beware if you step into a manuscript. I had to delete three chapters, yes you read it right, three whole chapters. I'd totally skipped several chapters of important parts that would lead correctly up to the end of the book. My brain had literally skipped some of the main plot rendering parts of the manuscripts. As I read through what I'd typed it began to become obvious. All I could do was delete. You may be asking why I didn't copy the work and then paste into the end after I entered the needed work. Well, the ending I'd typed did not actually go along with the missing work. That's another reason I map out the work that comes into my brain. If life steps in and walks all over my memory, well then I have some reminders written into the outline. It totally saved the manuscript. Needless to say, it will take a little longer to finish, but at least it will be complete as it should be, not just a quick ending to the story. So, a little piece of advice. If you need some help with your manuscripts flow, sit back and take a deep breath. Then try out an outline, it really saved me this time and definitely saved the story. As always, good writing and May God Bless You...

What's in a review?

I've blogged about reviews before and each time I get a lot of response from fellow authors. Reviews can do a lot for an author. They can cause readers to flock to your book, run away from your book or make them unsure. I've been reading several posts from fellow authors regarding the trend in reviews and in some ways its not good. As I've said before, if you're thinking about reviewing a book, please read the book first. It's so evident to an author when a reviewer hasn't even read the book. Let's take a look at some of the things fellow authors have told me about some of their reviews that either made them laugh, cry or smile. Some may have caused all of these emotions. 1: I really enjoyed this book but I'm giving it a 2 star because I didn't like the characters name. (This author was shocked when she saw this review. What's funny is, even though it's a 2 star review, which should be bad for the sales, the reviewer told readers it's a good book.) 2: This book is horrible. Why did it have to be so unrealistic? People just can't do this in real life. (Ok, this one made me laugh out loud. The book being reviewed was a Paranormal book about mythical creatures. I do give the reviewer credit, people really can't do what the characters did in this book because they aren't real. This author's book sales actually escalated after this review.) 3: Why? Please stop this. I didn't like this book at all. (This reviewer went on to email the author directly and tell her to stop writing. The author smiled as she was telling me about this review because she actually has hit the bestseller list in several countries with the very book this reviewer slammed. Her response was "It takes all kinds to make up the world". By the way, this book is free and the reviewer did not pay for it to begin with.) 4: Great book. I can't wait for more from this author. Waiting impatiently for next installment. (This author was thrilled with this review. It was her first book and she was afraid it wouldn't do well.) 5: I loved the book, but could have been a little more descriptive. The writing was good and the character development was well received. (This was a constructive review that was helpful to the author. She said that actually she went back and edited a couple of areas of the book to correct these issues.) This was just 5 of the responses I received after my last post on reviews. We rely on reviewers to be honest about their reviews of our work. The sad thing is many people out there are not very nice when they review a book. They strive to make the author look bad. What's really sad is that a post I read a couple of months ago, several authors were slammed repeatedly on Amazon and the reviewers were not verified purchases. The wording went along the same line and did not mention anything from the book. The reviewer was slamming the author themselves. It's sad but true. My advice to new authors or even veteran authors that haven't developed a thick skin is this. Use the reviews wisely. If the review is structured and they explain the flaws they see, then maybe check the flaws out. It could help. But if they're nasty and scathing, just let them roll off your back. It's hard, but as a published writer, you've opened yourself up to the public and sometimes they aren't very nice. So, tell me your experiences with reviews. How do you react? Just remember, smile you're a published author. As always, good writing and May God Bless You...

Guest post from Sonya Loveday

First off, I want everyone to meet my friend and fellow author Sonya Loveday. Sonya Loveday, first and foremost is a reader, an avid one. It is of that love that brought her to the realization that this was the answer to the nagging persistent feeling that ‘there’s got to be something more’. The dream came alive in 2009 when she purchased her laptop and began the tedious step of becoming a published author. When she’s not reading, she’s writing. When she’s not writing, she’s reading. And when she’s not doing either of those things she’s sleeping, shuttling her children back and forth to school, letting the dogs and cats in and out of the house for the umpteenth time in the last hour and dreaming of a clean house. You can find Sonya Loveday on Facebook, Twitter, Goodreads and Wordpress on the links below: http://www.facebook.com/sonyalovedayauthor?ref=hl http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/11660396-sonya-loveday https://twitter.com/SonyaLoveday - @SonyaLoveday www.sonyaloveday@wordpress.com Now I want to give you a look at her newest book which will be released officially March 31st. If the cover doesn't draw you in then the description will. I just love her covers.

This looks to be an awesome book. But let's not forget the 1st book in this series. Casted came out July 2013.

If this doesn't pull you in, well you need to go back to the start of this post and try again. Let's go out and support Sonya. As always, good writing and May God Bless you...

It's Spring! I'm so over Winter!

Well, today around lunch time it will become officially Spring. Of course that doesn't mean that Winter has let go of it's grip here in the US. Here in Georgia we're looking at cold temps next week and yep, a hint was given about a possible snow scenario coming really close to us next week. Really, we live in the South and for some reason Mother Nature has forgotten that. Oh well, we'll deal with it as it comes. When you think of Spring you usually think of Spring cleaning and refreshing everything around you. For me it's crunch time in tax season and that means I'm up to my elbows in tax returns. My writing usually suffers some during this time of the year. I can't keep my brain solidly on a story line when I finally get back into the house at night. But I think maybe I can go through my old manuscripts and do some refreshing. I've spoken several times about revising older releases and making them new. Usually when you do this you change the cover and give the book a new outlook. I'm planning on a couple of revisions in the next couple of weeks. I'm also following some advice from a couple of my reviewers. Also, this is a good time to clean up your files on your computer. In the Winter we get bogged down in the Winter time slow down of our brain. We let junk emails pile up, we let old, unuseful files pile up. Well, let's clean up that computer and get ready for the Spring/Summer inspiration that comes to most writers. I write more in the Spring/Summer time period. So if the computer is clean and ready, you can write unhindered. So, how are you Spring Cleaning your writing? As always, Good Writing and May God Bless You...

Where are you headed? Not Sure?

That's a hard question sometimes. Most people have no idea where they're headed in life. They just take like as it comes and usually don't make plans for the future. Do you have a plan? Have you got your future in mind or just living in the past? Life is full of turns, curves, stop signs, yields and just plan out warning signals that go unattended. How do you plan to see it through? Do you live life by the seat of your pants, never knowing which way to go when you get to the fork in the road? Most of us stand that this fork and stare straight ahead, confused and not sure what happens next. This happens so many times with writers. You write your manuscript, but now what? Do you publish it? Do you take a chance with a traditional publisher, but then again do you take a chance self publishing it? This is a hard question to ask yourself, but if you want to become a writer, it's a question that needs an answer. What's your goal? Here's a couple of road blocks that can come along: 1: Turns: This happens after you type The End. Are you self disciplined enough to self publish? Are you patient enough to wait on a traditional publisher? 2: Curves: Well you've made the decision as to how you want to publish your work. What now? If you decide to self publish the road can have many curves and you have to be disciplined enough to take those curves and move forward carefully. If you decide to send it to a traditional publisher, then the curves can be a long time coming and then when they do can you handle the possibility of a 90 degree curve when they either accept it or reject it? 3: Stop Signs: This is when you come to a complete halt. Either your manuscript is completely rejected by a traditional publisher or you decide to self publish and you have no idea where to go from here. That happens, how do you pull away from that stop sign? 4: Yield: With self publishing you have to know when to slow down and take the next step carefully. You need to be patient and slow down before going forward. This is also a good way to handle turning over your manuscript to a traditional publisher. Have you had your manuscript edited by someone other than yourself? One of the easiest way to be rejected by either way you publish is to send in your manuscript before it's ready. Don't run straight through the yield without slowing and taking a second look. 5: Warning signs: Also follow the warning signs. Don't jump into the frying pan without being ready for the burn. If you don't handle the business as it needs to be handled you will end up getting burned, rejected and ignored in the market. Remember writing is a business and the second you decide to publish, you're a writer and that's a business. Run it with that in mind. So, where are you headed? Do you know your plan? Before you take that huge step into publishing, figure it out. Know what you want to achieve and make a plan. Don't go into it without knowing the risks. If you want to self publish and don't know where to go from the words The End, check out the publishing service that I'm a partner in, Horseshoe Publishing. We strive to help authors move forward and put out the best product they can. The link to what we do is at the top of my page. We are offering a Spring Into Action 25% off special, so check us out. As always, good writing and May God Bless You...

Are you using your voice?

Ok, I know that's a strange question, but hear me out. I'm talking about your author's voice. That voice that speaks to you and drives you to write. You know that voice, it's the one that wakes you in the middle of the night, the one that keeps your mind off everything around you, and it's the one that nudges you to write that next chapter before bedtime. Yeah, you know it. All writers hear it, some ignore it, but you hear it. But the question is, are you using your voice? Have you listened to others and changed to suit them, but not you? Yes, we need to listen to our critics, but if we totally change our voice aren't we denying our inner talent. When you write from your heart it shows. When you listen to that voice in your head you use your writer's voice. If you change that and don't listen to your own voice, then where does the story come from. Well, it would have to come from somewhere outside of your head, which means you're not using your voice. It's your writer's voice that makes you the writer. It's that voice that gives you the stories you write, the emotions, the complexity of characters. So, if you don't use your own voice, then what next? Did you know that your voice determines the genre you write in? If your voice leans toward romance, then you write romance, if it leans toward science fiction, then you'll write science fiction. You get the picture, right? Well, I've talked to writer's that listened to critics and other people and they changed their voice. But it wasn't a good change, it was a tragic change. Their writing went downhill. Yes, we all need to edit our voice, I mean we're not perfect in no means, but we don't need to edit our voice. I had a reviewer tell me one time that I needed to add some tequila shots to one of my books. She went on to explain that she thought it needed to have more heated love scenes. Well, I'm sorry, but that's not my voice. She liked the book, but wanted more steamy sex scenes. My writing voice leans more toward the calmer romance voice. I have no problem with steamier books, but it's just not my voice. That's why we have authors that write in that voice. I lean more toward the heart warming romance. But that's just the way I write. I have many great author friends that write steamy romance and I love their books. They in turn read mine and appreciate it also. We understand that all of us has a different voice. So, are you following your voice? Are you listening to that inner part of you that makes your writing exclusively yours? Remember to follow your heart and not follow what's popular now. You never know, you could start a new voice or popular culture. As always, good writing and May God Bless You...

Character Lists, Organizing Them...

As a writer you learn many tricks of the trade. For me I outline almost every book from start to finish. Of course as the story develops so does the outline. One of the most important factors in the writing process is the character list. It helps keep you from renaming a character mid book. Yeah, I did this. *Grinning* Also helps you remember the different aspects of the characters that don't take forefront in the story. Of course I didn't learn this nifty little practice until about 5 books in. It really stinks when you're in the midst of writing and suddenly you can't remember what one of the side characters does for a living. I always keep my character outline at the bottom of my screen. It sits there ready for action when I need it. I just pull it up and get the info and bam, I'm back to writing. The book that I used this the most was 'Victoria'. She had 5 brothers and they had wives and children too. All of the characters played a part in the story so I had to remember what wife went with what brother. Also, in this one I had a timeline beside me too. I'll get into that in another blog. But if I didn't have that list, it would have been a nightmare. This outline started out on paper, handwritten, but after I lost it once I put it in my computer so that it was available at a moment's notice. This also helps with series. That way you can pull from this all the way throughout. You can add new characters and new additions to old characters. It's a wonderful tool and so easy to set up. So, if you're writing a book and don't have a character list, then I suggest setting one up. It helps immensely to have a mini bio on your characters. List their likes, dislikes. If your character has blonde hair, put it down. If they are vegetarian's thats important to make a note of. Also if they have a scar or disability, definitely worth a mention in the bio. This also helps if you decide to do a question answer session with your characters. These are really fun! As always, good writing and May God Bless You... Don't forget that "Finding the Right Time" is available for Pre Order on Smashwords.com. It should be up this week on Barnes & Noble, Kobo and Apple iTunes. It's only .99 while on Pre Order, but will go to $3.99 on March 31st when the official release date hits.

Throwback Thursday Post...

I am revisiting an old post from almost 2 years ago. Wow, it's hard to believe I've been blogging this long. Anyhow, this was one of my more popular posts from my blog over at CreateSpace. If you're a fan, try to figure out which book I was working on. It was one of my favs. Also, do you notice something missing from this post that is always on my posts? Third Cup of Coffee! Posted by SHurt on Sep 13, 2012 1:29:57 PM Well, it's Thursday morning. My son is at school and my hubby has gone to work. My mind in swirling with words to put into my current book. I am so excited about this new one. I just can't seem to type fast enough to get the words out of my head. I can see the whole ending and I am chomping at the bit or keys as it would be. I worked last night in between watching "The Voice". My son kept looking at me like I was crazy. I was actually smiling and chewing my lip as I typed. Have you ever been so into a manuscript that your every thought was focused on it? I had a new thought yesterday for a new spin that has totally rocked my manuscript. One of my characters is going totally on another direction from the original thought. It is funny how your mind works when you are into a manuscript. You think you have the right answers, but as you type your mind goes ahead of your fingers and totally changes everything. It is so cool how the process just develops on the scope of the work. I can't tell you where the idea is going, because that would be a "spoiler". I can tell you that my editor/assistant read up to what I had finished yesterday and she is now not speaking to me. She said she could not believe that I let her read it to that point and left her hanging over a cliff with no reprieve. I just smiled and knew I had accomplished what I wanted. I know I have said other books were my favorite, but I can honestly say this one has taken 1st prize in my heart. I have honed my writing skills and took into account different reviews of my other books. I have changed techniques and ways of describing characters and places. Just can't wait to type the end, but then again it has been such a big part of my life for the past month or so that I will probably have withdrawals. LOL!!!?